Charles Griffin Farr (California/Tennessee/Alabama, 1908-1997) WPA era oil on paper painting depicting a group of men in work clothes building a wooden structure at the end of a dock, a harbor and a city skyline visible on the opposite shore in the background. Unsigned. Housed and double matted under glass in a wooden frame. Sight: 14 3/4" H x 20" W. Framed: 26" H x 31 1/2" W. Second quarter 20th century. Biography: Charles Griffin Farr was a painter in the American Realist tradition. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and studied in New York City and at the Academie Americaine in Paris, France. He spent a significant part of his youth in Knoxville, TN. A graduate of Central High School, Farr returned to Knoxville in 1928 after his time in New York and abroad exhibiting works in the Melrose Art Center, which had notably featured works by other Knoxville artists including Charles Krutch and Lloyd Branson in the late 1920's. A young artist in the late 1930s, Farr took part in the Works Progress Administration programs (WPA) and trained as a restorer of ancient pottery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Farr also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for nearly a decade and remained there until his death. Though he spent the majority of his career on the West Coast, Farr often returned to Knoxville to paint the familiar area. Many of these works remain housed in the Knoxville Museum of Art's permanent collection. Farr received the Award in Painting from the American Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters, New York, NY in 1987. (adapted from https://art.ucsc.edu/sesnon/farr-collection, Askart, the Knoxville History Project and Knoxville Museum of Art).

The Collection of Thomas Davis, Knoxville, Tennessee, executor for the estate of his uncle, artist Charles Griffin Farr. Overall very good condition with very light craquelure, few areas of paint flakes/loss largest 1/4", top left and lower right corners of sheet. Reverse side of sheet with minor stain. Frame with minor abrasions, areas of loss, largest 1/2", glass with 1" x 2 3/4" break, lower left.